It’s been an interesting week. The Rhodes Family takes center stage in the war against Triple H and his corporate reign of terror, while The Miz is suddenly his number one target as The Game sent his attack dog, Randy Orton out to brutalize and send a message to everyone else in the locker room.
Confusion abound as The Shield fell in an 11-on-3 Gauntlet match on Raw, however rebounding as they defeated Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, and RVD on SmackDown. Shield strong or not? Make up your minds already. Speaking of which, The Real Americans appeared to run roughshod over The Prime Time Players on SmackDown. Titus O’Neal and Darren Young couldn’t get their act together to overcome the technical expertise of Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger. I do say, for a duo who at one time seemed to get buried at the bottom, The Real Americans are slowly creeping to the top with win after surprising win. I really must say I am very impressed with the way WWE has been handling the tag teams as of late. No one clear team dominant over another, all about equal in wins and losses. I do hope Los Matadores are allowed to add to the excitement, and not turning into another 3MB joke. Heath Slater lost to Santino while Jinder Mahal tried to hypnotize the “Cobra” with a flute. Really? No complaints about that little stereotype. I would have thought it to be funny, except it’s 3MB, so, it’s not.
Mazel Tov to Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella who announced their engagement. Way to go Bryan, not only are you a main eventer and former WWE Champion, you are getting hitched to a Diva whose claim to fame is having an ass no dress can contain.
This column just hit PG folks.
I am really just stumped over this “Battleground ” title. So, Rob Van Dam challenges Alberto del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship in “Battleground Hardcore Rules.” What in the hell does that even mean? Is is MORE hardcore than normal? Is it a level above or below extreme? Can someone give a goddamn explanation as to what in the hell “Battleground ” even means? Will there be tanks? B-52s? Generals mapping out attack formations? Big Show crying a moat around a fort? Seriously, having Big Show moping and crying is getting just a tad ridiculous. It was fine for a while, but now something has got to break. Then again, building the drama has been the winning ticket for storylines these days, so perhaps WWE is on the right track here with Big Show.
Bray Wyatt saw more action, defeating Zack Ryder in what was a highly successful match, for bathrooms and concession stands everywhere. Geez, can this guy catch a break again? He WAS the United States Champion for a while. Maybe it is just me, but it seems as if anyone holding a mid-tier title for too long winds up in mid-card losing hell. Just ask Wade Barrett, The Miz, Antonio Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, and yes, even Dolph Ziggler. There has been some tease with Ziggler going back for the United States Championship, but I just do not see Dean Ambrose losing it while the Corporate angle is going strong. Sad to see the former World Champion dumped back down the ladder. I really thought he would have been back at World Title contention.
Let’s not forget CM Punk. There is always a great saga for him. Ryback and Curtis Axel working together to take down the Second City Saint works very well. Paul Heyman is building his new Dangerous Alliance, and Ryback makes perfect sense to compliment Axel. Here is why. Brock Lesnar is a big guy, a bona-fide beast, but you would never see him teaming with Axel. You need someone believable. Ryback saddled the bully gimmick for too long, and people stopped caring. He sucks on the mic. Putting him with Heyman is a win-win for everyone. Axel has his big man to team with. Will they be like Power and Glory (Paul Roma and Hercules) or Vicious and Delicious (Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton)? Perhaps better off as neither. Who knows, maybe the little-guy-big-guy connection might work like it did for Danny Doring and Amish Roadkill? In any event, this is a big-time feud for Punk. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the future he brought over some of his crew to face off against the Heyman stable, unless this will successfully continue to be a Punk vs. Everyone in a one-man war.
Let’s see what comes this week, and hopefully find out if Battleground has some meaning, or it is really just a better pay-per-view name than Bragging Rights.
